Daily John 19
Daily Bread, John 19
Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
Observation:
Chapter 19 gives the full account of Jesus’ crucifixion including the trial before, Pontius Pilate. We see the irony of Pilate, the Roman official, who saw no reason for Jesus to be crucified, according his laws. But the Jewish leaders were the ones who shouted “Crucify Him!” They wanted to crucify Him because He claimed to be God.
So here we see clearly that Jesus did claim to be the Son of God, and that was the reason He was crucified. There were no sins for which He was crucified other than claiming to be the Son of God. The Jews who should have been the one to recognize Jesus did not. And Pilate, the Roman official, seems to be closer to knowing Jesus than his own people.
John also points out all of the prophecies Jesus fulfills in his death. They include: the casting of lots for his clothing which was not torn up, the fact that his legs were not broken, which is the normal way those crucified met their death, his words “I am thirsty” and “it is finished”, and his side being pierced. If anyone thought Jesus tried to do things during his life to fulfill prophecy that he already knew, he could have never have arranged for these things to happen in on his final day.
Application:
It is so hard for me to realize that this is actually God who this is happening to. There is no other religion where the God is portrayed as one who would suffer and be ridiculed by the very people He came to save. It is hard for me to get my hands around the fact that at any time Jesus could have called down all of the angels of heaven to save him and answer those who crucified him. But he didn’t.
What kind of love would drive a man to do this for those who hated him? It is hard enough to imagine a person laying down his life for his friends, but Jesus proved His love and God’s love for us that while we were yet sinners, He died for us. If you ever doubted God’s love for you, hopefully the words of this passage will show you the full extent of God’s love for you. No greater love is there than a person would lay down his life for you in this fashion, especially the only Son of God. God never asks us to do anything that He wasn’t willing to do Himself.
Prayer: Jesus thank you for what you did for me. As I realize that you died for me help me to lay down my life for you and others you call me to love with this same kind of love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
Observation:
Chapter 19 gives the full account of Jesus’ crucifixion including the trial before, Pontius Pilate. We see the irony of Pilate, the Roman official, who saw no reason for Jesus to be crucified, according his laws. But the Jewish leaders were the ones who shouted “Crucify Him!” They wanted to crucify Him because He claimed to be God.
So here we see clearly that Jesus did claim to be the Son of God, and that was the reason He was crucified. There were no sins for which He was crucified other than claiming to be the Son of God. The Jews who should have been the one to recognize Jesus did not. And Pilate, the Roman official, seems to be closer to knowing Jesus than his own people.
John also points out all of the prophecies Jesus fulfills in his death. They include: the casting of lots for his clothing which was not torn up, the fact that his legs were not broken, which is the normal way those crucified met their death, his words “I am thirsty” and “it is finished”, and his side being pierced. If anyone thought Jesus tried to do things during his life to fulfill prophecy that he already knew, he could have never have arranged for these things to happen in on his final day.
Application:
It is so hard for me to realize that this is actually God who this is happening to. There is no other religion where the God is portrayed as one who would suffer and be ridiculed by the very people He came to save. It is hard for me to get my hands around the fact that at any time Jesus could have called down all of the angels of heaven to save him and answer those who crucified him. But he didn’t.
What kind of love would drive a man to do this for those who hated him? It is hard enough to imagine a person laying down his life for his friends, but Jesus proved His love and God’s love for us that while we were yet sinners, He died for us. If you ever doubted God’s love for you, hopefully the words of this passage will show you the full extent of God’s love for you. No greater love is there than a person would lay down his life for you in this fashion, especially the only Son of God. God never asks us to do anything that He wasn’t willing to do Himself.
Prayer: Jesus thank you for what you did for me. As I realize that you died for me help me to lay down my life for you and others you call me to love with this same kind of love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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